I've reached Mumbai after a few days in Bangladesh...my thoughts are all over the place - will not necessarily be sending them in sequence.

Here are some more thoughts from Lahore:

- well...my being proud of having fooled the airport pickup driver
into thinking I was from Islamabad was short-lived; everywhere I went
afterwards, people recognized I was a foreigner. The funniest part
was at the Badshahi Masjid, where this short old man (who reminded me
of a desi Asterix...minus the winged helmet), ran after me saying
random words in English, in an attempt to be my guide in the Masjid...

- the Badshahi Masjid was made by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb (the
only real Islamic-minded one out of the lot), and can fit 100,000
people. It is a simple, yet beautiful, red brick structure. It's
right outside the old city (conveniently located next to the "Red
Light district", which is also a Shia' area); across the courtyard is
the Shahi Qila (direct translation: Royal Fortress), Shah Jehan's
fortress of laze and luxury. Outside of the Masjid courtyard is the
tomb of Ranjit Singh, nicknamed the Lion of the Punjab, and one of
the major draws for Sikh tourists. More importantly, the great
Islamic poet and philosopher, Allama Muhammad Iqbal, is buried in the
courtyard. I offered Fatihah and made dua' that Allah(swt) bless the
world with another man of his genius; truly, men like him only come
once in centuries...

- the Badshahi Masjid has an upstairs section right by the main
entrance, which claims to have the hair of the Prophet Muhammad(saw)
and the sword of Hazrat Ali(ra). Judging by the amount of hairs
attested to the Prophet(saw) and found in the Indian sub-continent,
they make him out to be very hairy. I also wondered how all these
hairs mysteriously made their way to Lahore and Kashmir (Hazratbal
Masjid)...but I digress from my smart-assedness...

- the Shahi Qila had various places of interest, such as the Shish
Mahal (palace of glass), Diwan-e-Khaas (place where the Emperor would
hold special, important meetings), Diwan-e-Aam (where the Emperor
would hold court and listen to the plaints of the people), Moti
Masjid (Masjid ornamented with rubies), etc. However, the Shahi Qila
is barely even a shadow of its former self: the British cleaned out
every single jewel and precious stones that were embedded in the
incredible designs inside. I failed to find even one piece that they
left behind. Have there been greater pirates and thieves in history
than Europeans?

- Nevertheless, the Mughals were very advanced for their time, with
sophisticated mechanisms in place for water redirection, irrigation,
using its natural force for fountains, room temperature control with
carefully crafted "netted" walls, etc. And Mughal artwork is
outstanding...

- Impressiveness aside, the Mughals luxurious lifestyle is evident -
and undoubtedly holds a significant amount of fault for the state of
Muslims today...

- I also checked out the tombs of the Mughal Emperor Jehangir, his
wife Noor Jehan, and her brother Asif Khan. Asif's tomb is badly
kept; the legend goes that he was a general in Jehangir's army and an
avid womanizer. Every time any of his soldiers or workers got
married, he would first spend the night with the bride. Noor Jehan
kept telling him to stop but he didn't, so eventually she gave him a
bad dua' that eagles and crows would pick at his grave after his
death...or some Mughalesque nonsense like that :)

- I saw the Minar-e-Pakistan in Lahore, the tower where the Pakistan
agreement was first signed. It stands proudly in the city, but
represents a devastating part of history, the cost of which is still
being paid today...

- I went around the city to a bunch of other places (nice areas like
Gulberg, Defence and Cantt and old ones like Purani Anarkali). Some
people - mostly from Lahore itself and elsewhere in the province of
Punjab - say variations of "If you haven't seen Lahore, you haven't
seen anything" or "you haven't seen Pakistan" or "you haven't been
born". I failed to see what the hype was about...I was rather
disappointed, despite seeing all the posh areas of the city...I
honestly think Lahore might be the most overrated city in the world
(maybe 2nd only to Toronto ;)). Rather, I would daresay that if you
haven't seen Karachi, you haven't seen Pakistan. It's a unique,
cosmopolitan city that represents Pakistan well, with a melange of
all ethnicities, linguistic, religious and sectarian groups. You
will find all kinds of people in Karachi in every way, which adds to
the beauty of its rich tapestry. Karachi has a tangible feeling of
vibrance and excitement, and you almost feel swallowed by its sheer
size and hubub...

- Even with all of the development Nawaz Sharif did in Lahore and the
millions of dollars he poured into the city (at the expense of cities
like Karachi, Hyderabad, etc.), Lahore does not seem more than a big
village. In fact, comparing Lahore to Karachi is ridiculous; it's
like comparing Edmonton to New York City. A more accurate comparison
would be between Lahore and Rawalpindi...in which case, Lahore is
significantly nicer (mainly because 'Pindi' is just so nasty)...

- I heard absolutely horrific stories of what happened during the
riots in Karachi following the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. It
seems very systematic in how it was conducted and how non-Sindhis
were targeted. Worse yet, many eyewitnesses say that it felt like
war and a foreign army had invaded, as labourers were burned alive in
factories, and hundreds of poor women were kidnapped and
raped...shades of Gujarat.

- While anti-Musharraf sentiment can be felt everywhere, it is not as
greatly felt in Karachi as it is in Lahore and Islamabad.
Karachiites seem to be more upset with Musharraf with some of his
actions, like the Lal Masjid massacre, yet are thankful that someone
who is not embezzling money is in power, after years of third-rate
hoodlums named Nawaz Sharif and Bhutto. Lahoris are dead against
Musharraf, and seem to somewhat favour local boy Nawaz Sharif. When
asked about his corruption and abuse of power while he was PM, some
Lahoris seem to selfishly feel that as long as money comes into their
city, all is well...

- Many people, particularly in Lahore, seem to be convinced that
Pakistan will break up and only Punjab will remain. Given that there
already exists an institutionalized bias towards the Punjab, it
wouldn't be surprising...

- In Landhi (area in Karachi), an Awami National Party (secular
Pathan group) leader was shot dead, which led many to fear riots. I
landed in Karachi after midnight the very night, very paranoid and
not knowing what to expect, with visions of my May trip, when I was
caught for 9 hours in between bullet exchanges (re: Chief Justice
visit). I grabbed a Metro Cab (slightly more expensive, but
regulated, set prices, etc.) and made it to where I was staying quite
quickly - it seemed everyone was inside worried about riots...which
led to no riots (alhamdulillah)

- The next day was Benazir's 'Chehlum' (a non-Islamic ritual marking
40 days since someone's death). Schools were given the day off and
many stores were closed, with expectations of violence. In this
tense atmosphere, I decided to go out on a motor rickshaw into the
city, as my time in the country was running short and I still had
work to do. With significantly less traffic, it wasn't too bad and
most importantly, there were no problems, alhamdulillah...

- I honestly think that it's in everyone's best interests to seperate
Karachi from Sindh and make it into a Federally-controlled area, and
return the seat of government there, even in the form of a split
capital with Islamabad. There was definite wisdom in Muhammad Ali
Jinnah's decision in making Karachi the capital. One huge reason was
that it would have helped the democratic growth of the new country
being close to an "activist" city with the proximity to
intelligentia, and thus harmed the ambitions of the elite feudal
class. Alas, the accursed Ayub Khan, amongst his numerous crimes,
committed this despicable theft and strengthened and emboldened the
feudal class even more - not to mention plundering the country's
wealth and progress by doing so and constructing Islamabad...

- My trip to Pakistan has reinforced what I was observing from
abroad - Pakistani society, as a whole, continues to split into 3
distinct groups: the lower group that is engaged in extremism and
violence; the middle group that is becoming completely "Indianized";
and the elite group, that is becoming completely "Americanized". So
the question remains once more: after 60 years, there is still no
specific identity that has been formulated, while segments are taking
on other identities, so what was the point again for Pakistan, aside
from splitting and harming Muslims and Islam?

PS. so as I was leaving Karachi for Dhaka, an hour-and-a-half before
my flight, I was given my missing suitcase. So now I have 3 luggage
pieces + 1 handbag. I am relieved to have gotten the bag,
alhamdulillah, but it is now a significant nuisance in my hectic
itinerary. Anyways, to get the bag, I had to run around the
airport...and eventually, I refused to do further running around.
The custom guard heard me and told the guy to just give me the bag
without passing through customs. After it was done and I thanked the
guard and speaking for a while, he asked me if I wouldn't mind
purchasing him a card for his cellphone for 110 rupees. He said I
didn't have to do it if I didn't want to, but it would be nice if I
did. I decided to do it as I was grateful...though I kept debating
with myself afterwards whether it was a bribe or not. Considering
that he asked me AFTER I'd already gotten my bag and he said that I
didn't have to, I figure it was more of a gift and less of a bribe...?

who's the writer

Shujat Wasty

thank u brother , we must know some new words in this topic

I love to read about other islamic states because soon we would unite In Sha2 Allah and it is a shame on us not to know about them

I love to read about other islamic states because soon we would unite In Sha2 Allah and it is a shame on us not to know about them
very true!! I suggest that u start a short ten minute talk in your masjid about the different parts of the Muslim Ummah talking about a new part each time after Isha prayer for example, to educate the Muslims about their heritage and their brethren all over the world. I tried it before and it was very successful

One of the great bounties of living in the west is the interaction with muslims from all over the globe.

It was a bless for me to live with Muslims from almost 50 countries and you can not immagine the power of Iman and brotherhood.

Hamdulilah and I pray for Allah to grant us our unity soonest possible.

اللهم ردنا إلى دينك رداً جميلاً

اللهم آمييين